The Indian Talking Stick - National FFA Organization

a newsletter for future leaders october ‘09 / volume 8 / Issue 2
The Indian
Talking Stick
Have you ever been a part of a meeting
where all the participants are talking at the
same time? Everyone is so busy giving his or
her opinion that nobody is listening to what
is going on. Does it sound all too familiar…
maybe in some your interactions with some
of your fellow state officers? What if there
was a way to alleviate the problem?
The Indian Talking Stick reminds us that
before we lead, we must listen. Leaders
seek to understand the perspectives of
others before they communicate their own
points. They show empathy and ask good
questions. As a result, they earn the right to
be heard.
The atmosphere is tense. Conflict is in the
air. The two tribes have been known to
disagree before, but recent events have led
many to believe that war is on the horizon.
As the council members assemble, the two
chiefs join the circle, both facing each other
without saying a word. For several moments
there is only silence. Then, in a burst of
emotion the group erupts with angry shouts
and accusations. No one is listening, and it
looks like violence in inevitable. That is, until
the visiting chief steps forward and raises
the Talking Stick. Suddenly, the atmosphere
begins to change…
It’s been around for centuries, yet few have
ever heard of it. Here’s how it works. During
the meeting, the Indian Talking Stick is
passed around from person to person, but
only the one holding it is allowed to speak.
It remains in the speaker’s possession until
he/she feels completely understood by
everyone in the group. The only exception is
when the speaker might lend it to someone
who is seeking to clarify the speakers point.
Once the point is clarified, the stick returns
to the speaker until he believes he is fully
understood. Only then is it passed to the
next individual.
It’s a simple concept, but the end result is
quite remarkable. As the tribal members
pass the stick around, they slowly become
Continued on page 2

less combative and more cohesive. Each
person feels like his or her view is getting a
fair hearing. Before long, the real source of
the conflict is revealed, and new solutions
begin forming. War is averted. Relationships
are restored. All because the focus is on understanding,
not just being understood.
Without question, the greatest emotional
need of people today is the need to be
understood. And to understand, we must
listen. Leaders have to get this. If they don’t,
it doesn’t matter how intelligent, gifted, or
charismatic they are. They will ultimately fail
to connect with others and end up sabotaging
their true potential. It’s not easy. Most of
us aren’t naturally good listeners. We have
to work at it, being diligent and alert to the
needs around us.
When it comes to listening, leaders simply
cannot afford to fall asleep on the job. Often,
as much as 50 percent of leaderhsip is about
To start with we have to identify the
bad listening habits we may have
picked up over the years:
✵ Judgemental Listening-Jumping to
conclusions about the speaker.
✵ Selective Listening-Only hearing
what you want to hear.
✵ Impatient Listening-Finishing other
people’s sentences, interrupting
them.
✵ Egocentric Listening-Think about
what you’ll say as others are talking.
✵ Patronizing Listening-Pretending
to listen, but really off in your own
world.
✵ Stubborn Listening-listening, but
not open-your mind is already
made up.
1 The Indian Talking Stick
3 Stationed by the Hole Punch
listening, observing and interpreting what
we see and hear. So how do we learn to do
this well? How do we practice the Indian
Talking Stick in our everyday lives?
Can you relate to any of these common pitfalls?
Your ability to move past them will
have a profound impact on your leadership.
If you want to become a great listener, you’ll
need to work on two things: showing empathy
and asking good questions.
Show Empathy
Empathy is about entering into another
person’s situation. It involves understanding
how others feel and showing that you
genuinely care. Counselors are usually great
at this. You’ll see them nod and show concern
in their faces and display real interest in
what you are saying. When they listen, you
feel understood and your emotions are validated.
And when they finally do speak up,
you’re all ears. WHY? Their ability to listen
has earned them the right to be heard. It is
the same with us, when we listen empathetically
to others they become receptive to
what we have to say in return.
Ask Good Questions
Showing empathy is important, but so is
asking relevant questions. Stop for a second
and recall the last time you visted the
dontor’s office. Did the doctor just barge
through the door and immediately give
you a diagnosis based on the way you look?
Doctors take the time to look into your
eyes, listen to your hertbeat, etc.. Only after
poking and prodding will they give you a diagnosis
Have you learned to poke and prod during
your conversations with others? Or, do you
make assumptions and jump to conclusions?
How you answer says a lot about your listening
ability. Many leaders believe they are
supposed to have answers and not questions.
They never ask, afraid they will appear
4 Five Levels of
Leadership
5 Collegiate Corner
6 Trainer’s Corner
7 Wit and Wisdom
weak. Asking good questions doesn’t make
you appear weak; well-placed questions
help you connect with people and understand
where they are really coming from. It is
a sign of strength.
The Indian Talking Stick reminds
leaders that if they want to
connect with others, they must
first learn how to listen.
How does this idea relate to you as a state of-
ficer? Let’s first apply it to your team dynam-
ics. Have there been times where the tension
was thick and everybody was busy giving
their own opinions and not listening to each
others? This is a dangerous place for a team
to be because it builds walls and team members
lose sight of why they are here. Think
about your team environment. How could a
talking stick help you accomplish your team
goals?
Now apply this concept of listening to your
role as a state officer. How important is it
that you are listening to those you are serving?
How will improving your listening skills
enhance your influence as a leader for your
association? Think how much more you and
your teammates could accomplish if you
start by doubling the amount of time you
spend listening instead of talking.
The Indian Talking Stick reminds leaders that
if they want to connect with others, they
must first learn how to listen. This habit can
revolutionize your day to day life. Your relationships
will be strengthened and your influence
will increase. It all begins with showing
empathy and asking good questions.
This excerpt is taken from Habitudes, by Tim Elmore,
copyright 2007.
8 Readers are Leaders
9 News and Notes

Submit articles to Bright Ideas:
By e-mail: tparis@ffa.org
By fax: 317-802-5309
By mail: Tina Paris,
Leadership and Education
Program Delivery Team
National FFA Organization
6060 FFA Drive, P.O. Box 68960
Indianapolis, IN 46268-0960
the FFa Mission FFA makes a positive
difference in the lives of students by
developing their potential for premier
leadership, personal growth and career
success through agricultural education.
the agricultural education Mission
Agricultural education prepares students
for successful careers and a lifetime of
informed choices in the global agriculture,
food, fiber and natural resources systems.
The National FFA Organization is a
resource and support organization that
does not select, control or supervise state
association, local chapter or individual
member activities except as expressly provided
for in the National FFA Organization
Constitution and Bylaws.
The National FFA Organization affirms its
belief in the value of all human beings and
seeks diversity in its membership, leadership
and staff as an equal opportunity
employer.
© 2009 National FFA Organization
www.ffa.org
M
any times we are asked the question,
what does FFA stand for? When you
share that FFA was formerly known as
the Future Farmers of America and explain,
some repeat the question but “What does
FFA stand for?” Few people rarely, if ever, ask
a similar question when, ABC, IBM, YMCA,
www, or AAA are mentioned. However,
we must approach this question as an
opportunity to communicate the value and
brand of FFA. I believe that FFA stands for
the following:
Lifelong Learning:
FFA was founded on the basis that learning
is a continuous process. We will never lack
for an opportunity to learn. FFA, integral
to agricultural education, demonstrates
that contextual learning helps us to retain
information and processes that can be
applied in multiple lifelong situations. FFA
provides the opportunity to demonstrate
and practice communication and leadership
skills for personal development. FFA
members recognize that lifelong learning is
essential for career success.
Unselfish Service:
FFA members strive to live a life of service.
The FFA motto; Learning to Do, Doing to
Learn, Earning to Live, Living to Serve, clearly
identifies that FFA focuses on living a life
of service. Throughout history, FFA has
Stationed by the Hole
Punch!
By Steve Brown
nationaL FFa execUtive Secretary
continuously promoted programs focused
on service to others. Programs such as
Food for America, Building Our American
Communities, Million Hour Challenge,
Seeds of Hope, PALS and the National FFA
Convention Days of Service all demonstrate
that unselfish service is a corner stone that
FFA values.
Unshakable character:
Character is a choice of making the right
decision, regardless if someone else is
watching. It is built on trust, compassion and
consistently maintaining your commitment.
The unwritten legacy is that FFA makes a
positive difference by valuing the worth
of others regardless of circumstances. FFA
provides the desire to change and grow an
attitude of treating all people with respect
and honor. FFA members learn to develop
achievable dreams and goals by making wise
choices. FFA provides a solid foundation to
build courage, conviction and commitment
that develops an unshakable character.
The hole punch provides and stands for
a consistent, steady, reliable delivery of a
product. So the next time someone asks
you, “What does FFA stand for?” I hope you
will respond by stating: FFa stands for
lifelong learning, unselfish service and
unshakable character.
Learning to Do, Doing to Learn,
Earning to Live, Living to Serve

The Five Levels of Leadership…
Level Two…
Let’s review-In the last issue of Bright
Ideas you read level one of the five levels
of leadership. Remember, in level one
the only influence you have is that which
comes with a title. This is a dangerous place
to stay for no personal growth ever occurs
and your ability to influence decreases
over time.
L e t’s talk abo u t
L e v e l 2 - Pe rm i ssi o n
Leadership is getting people to work for
you when they are not obligated. That
will only happen when you enter into the
second level of influence. People don’t
care how much you know until they know
how much you care. Leadership begins
with the heart, not the head. It flourishes
with a meaningful relationship, not more
regulation.
As we know, leaders on the position level
often lead by intimidation. They are like the
chickens that psychologist T. Schjelderup-
Ebbe studied in developing the “pecking
order” principle that is used to describe all
types of social dynamics.
Schjelderup-Ebbe found that in any flock
one hen usually dominates all the others.
She can peck any other without being
pecked in return. Second is a hen that
pecks all but the top hen, and the rest are
arranged in descending hierarchy, ending
in one hapless hen that is pecked by all and
can peck no one.
In contrast to this a person on the
permission level will lead by interrelationships.
The agenda is not the
pecking order but people development.
On this level, time,
energy and focus
are placed on the
individual’s needs and
desires. People who
are unable to build
solid lasting relationship will so discover
that they are unable to sustain long
effective leadership. You can love people
without leading them but you cannot
lead people without loving them. Think
about this, If level 1 Position is the door to
leadership, then level 2, Permission, is the
foundation.
In your journey of leadership it is important
to not skip a level. The most often
skipped level is number 2. Think about
this. You were elected as a state officer
this past spring. In your new position you
immediately start focusing on producing
results (level 3) for your association.
It’s not all bad as you are making some
things happen for the members in your
state. Along the way though you missed
In contrast to this a person on the permission level
will lead by interrelationships. The agenda is not the
pecking order but people development.
a critical element that would have made
you a stronger leader. You neglected
the essential relationships with all the
people who help you make things happen;
partners, advisors, members, teammates.
The end result is that your ability to
influence overall has disintegrated .
Eventually all that you worked for is falling
apart. Never forget the importance of
nurturing your relationships. What are you
doing to practice level 2?

Collegiate
Corner
The Collegiate FFA team has
been busy planning for the 2009
Collegiate Convention. Collegiate
Convention registration is online
and easier than ever! Go to https://
register.ffa.org/event/8076 to
register today! Make sure to
download your resume during the
registration process so it can be
handed out at the Career Expo!
Make sure to plan to attend all of
the collegiate events including our
collegiate workshop on Wednesday
and Thursday! Please make a
special trip to the Collegiate FFA
booth in the Career Show to learn
about the many programs and
opportunities Collegiate
FFA has to offer you, to see
the new and improved
Collegiate FFA website,
and to register to win an
iPod!
Collegiate House Parties
Plan to spend your evenings networking and having
fun with your friends at the Collegiate House Parties!
Thursday night from 8 p.m. – Midnight, come to
Rock Bottom restaurant to watch football, eat, play
pool and meet new friends! On Friday from 8 – 11
p.m., plan to show off your school pride by wearing
your university colors and coming to the NCAA
Hall of Champions! There will be lots of food, fun,
dancing and friendly basketball, baseball, and hockey
competitions!
Amazing FFA Race
We’ve all seen the race on TV, now it’s
your chance to team up with your fellow
collegiate students to put your racing skills
to the test! Teams of 3-4 will compete in
solve clues and completed challenges as
they race around the Circle City. Teams
will be competing for numerous prizes
and the overall title of Amazing FFA Race
Champions!
Teams will meet at 6 p.m. at ICC 114 for
orientation and the race. Teams will be
provided all of the rules and guidelines at
orientation. Teams will be provided more
information after they have registered. The
race will begin at 6:30 p.m.
on Thursday evening
and will end at the
Collegiate Football
Watch Party at Rock
Bottom restaurant.
For more
information on
these, and other
collegiate FFa
programs, go to
www.ffa.org/collegiate!
Collegiate Career Expo
The Collegiate Career Expo has
moved! The Expo will be held at the
East Concourse of Lucas Oil Stadium
this year during the American Degree
Ceremony! The Expo will run from
9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 24.
Plan to walk through the Expo during
the ceremony and learn about the
numerous agriculture companies that
are looking for their next intern and
employee!
Career Finder 2.0
Career Finder 2.0 is a series of
session dedicated to helping you
finding and securing the ideal job or
internship. Come for one or all four
of the sessions that focus on, making
the most of career fairs, creating
the perfect cover letter and resume,
securing an interviewing and the
art networking. We have found the
top industry professionals to come
in and talk about what they look for
in an intern or employee, and how
they hire. The sessions will begin at
9:30 am on Friday, and will run over
each hour and a half. Plan to join
your fellow collegiate
students for the free
networking lunch from
Noon – 1 p.m. on Friday
in ICC 105-106.

play that
Demonstrating how
FFA can assist with
financial scholarships
for higher education.
Brief Description
During this activity, students work in small groups
to list as many songs with the word “money” in them
in two minutes. Each group will sing the line of the
song that has the word “money” in it to the rest of
the participants. If the other teams have the song on
their list, then they must mark it off. The team with
the most original songs with the word “money” in it
wins the activity.
TOTAL TIME: 10 – 15 minutes
Debrief
Materials
★ Flip chart paper or marker/chalk
board
★ Marker for presenter
★ One piece of paper for each group
applications
the Process
1. Divide students into groups of four to five
2. Explain the procedure
a. List as many songs with the word “money” in it within two minutes
b. Be prepared to sing the line of the song with the word “money” in it
when it is time to present
c. The team with the most original songs wins
3. One at a time, have each group present one of their songs (If a team has the
song on their list, then they need to mark it off)
4. Debrief (example questions below)
Ask the following questions to elicit discussion relating to the students’ illustrations. Allow discussion to gradually move into how
FFA helps prepare students for career success through career development events, leadership programs, conferences and state and
national FFA conventions, and other relevant leadership opportunities at the state and local levels.
★ What is a common theme with all of these songs?
★ What emotions are associated with money? (i.e. happiness,
stress, greed, worry, etc.)
★ What are some of your plans after you graduate high school?
★ How do you plan to finance your college career?
★ How might FFA help?
★ What about programs within your Agricultural Education
courses outside of FFA? (i.e., Supervised Agricultural
Experience programs)
★ Agricultural education SAE projects
★ Career Success workshop
This activity can be used at the beginning of a program as an overview, at the end as a review or as
one of the objectives relating to career success or the benefits of FFA. In addition, it can be used in
workshops for nearly any topic. Applications include, but not limited to:
★ Benefits of joining FFA
★ Scholarships available through FFA and agricultural education
6

Wit and Wisdom
Most people have not heard of Morris-
town, New Jersey, but just about everyone
has heard of the famous organization located
there. The Seeing Eye has been training
dogs to guide the blind since the 1930s. The
training process these canines experience is
truly a study in modeling high expectations.
Until eighteen months of age, the puppies
live with families where they are taught
basic obedience skills. They learn things
such as to stay off the furniture or not to
eat from the table. The future guides then
return to the Seeing Eye for formal training
that lasts for about four months. Two
trainers often work with the dogs on the
streets of Morristown. One trainer may wear
a blindfold and hold the harness in order
to have the perspective of someone who
is blind. The other trainer shadows the pair
for safety.
Most dogs learn quickly, however there are a
couple of lessons that are more difficult than
the rest. So what is the toughest thing to train
a Seeing Eye dog to do? It depends on who
you ask, but two answers seem to come to
the top. One is “intelligent disobedience.” If
the dog is given a command to go, yet it sees
“What you are speaks so
loudly I can not hear what
you say.”
-Ralph Waldo
Emerson
We will always tend to
fulfill our own expectation
of ourselves.
-Brian Tracy
Application Question:
What areas of your life model poor expectations
for others? How can you change this?
How can you help others see the power of their
life as a role model? Are there examples
of times when you saw someone do something
positive or negative and it influenced you to do
the same? A
At each step of a Seeing Eye dog’s life, high
expectations are modeled. For the first year
Great
and a half they are already learning basic obedience
skills. Later, trainers will use incidents
with cars, tree limbs and much more to demonstrate
the correct perspective a dog needs
Resource
in order to do its job. Each dog also under-
for
stands the consequences of wrong behavior.
As an officer, how do we model the expectations
others have for us? Do our actions repre-
Speeches
a car coming, it has to know to disobey the
command.
The seriousness of this lesson can be demonstrated
to the dog by having the trainer
or blind person stage an accident with a car.
The command to go is given and if the dog
does proceed into the street in front of the
car, the trainer may fake being hit. The trainer
will fall to the ground and moan as if the
car has really hurt them. The dog sees that
it must disregard the command in order to
protect the person it is guiding.
The other tough training obstacles are tree
limbs, or any other horizontal barrier. If a
dog were to lead a person under a tree with
limbs that were five feet from the ground,
the dog would not be hurt. However, the
person being guided would be struck in the
face by limb. Again the trainer might show
how the limb hurt them by faking pain.
As one trainer aptly said, “When a dog leaves
here, it must see the world from five feet
off the ground, not two feet as when it first
began class.” It’s the trainer’s job to help
the dog get that new perspective. Doing so
allows each canine to do the remarkable task
of guiding the blind.
sent a path others should follow? Guide dogs
see expectations modeled for them one hundred
percent of the time. Our lives should also
aim for such a high standard if we are to effectively
guide others.
For more info: www.seeingeye.org
Andrew McCrea is a nationally syndicated
radio broadcaster, author, speaker and farmer.
He is also a past national FFA Secretary. His
website is: AndrewMcCrea.com
Application Ideas:
Provide a group of students with any
activity that is timed. Allow them to
complete the activity a couple of times
and then ask them to set a difficult,
yet attainable goal for completing the
activity faster. Almost every time, the
group will keep working at the task
until they can reach that goal. What
does this say about the power of expectations?
As Brian Tracy says, “We will
always tend to fulfill our own expectation
of ourselves.” What standards have
we set individually and as a chapter
when it comes to these expectations?
Could we set an even higher standard?

Leaders
are Readers
the Power of charm: How to win
anyone over in any Situation
By Bryan Tracy and Ron Arden
Amacom, 2006
In FFA we often describe people as having “Woo” … or the
ability to “Win Others Over.” No matter how skilled, smart or
experienced you may be, 85 percent of your ability to succeed
at anything depends on your ability to win people over, to convince them-
-to charm them. People with charm have the ability to create extraordinary rapport
with anyone. The secret it this: make others feel important!
Like any leadership skill, charm can be learned. In this book, Tracy unpacks how to:
• Capture anyone's attention and trust within the first few seconds of meeting
• Win the support of others who can help you achieve your goals
• Master the body language and advanced listening techniques that will
make others feel that you are focused on them
• Deliver more powerful and engaging talks and presentations, and more.
Warning: No strategy or guideline can replace the authentic CARE of people. So be
sure to read through your heart lens and remember why you are learning these
skills. Applying these ideas will help the reader gain greater confidence and selfesteem
and learn how to naturally win people over.
Download a preview of Chapter 1 free when you subscribe to Bryan Tracy’s free enewsletter
www.briantracy.com/powerofcharm. There are some other free assessments
and tools on this website too!
Go Put your Strengths to work
By Marcus Buckingham
This is the newest book from “strengths guru” Marcus Buckingham.
Most likely you’ve taken the strengths finder assessment
and you know your “top 5”—the talents that
come most naturally and energize you. And you’ve spent
the last year developing those talents. Now, how do you put
those to work at school and in a future career? This book offers six practical, yet
powerful steps to achieve outstanding performance, complete with structured
exercises to help you integrate your strengths into your weekly activities.
If you’ve never taken the assessment, the book comes with a code to take it
online. Plus, you can download two segments of the short film “Trombone
Player Wanted” for free. These features—plus some very cool tear-out note
cards—add to your learning experience and help you move from a great idea
to a goal.
the ten Faces of
innovation
By Tom Kelley
Currency Doubleday, 2005
Every team has a devil’s advocate.
You know, those pesky
personas who pride themselves
as being “realistic” but
really end up sucking the innovation right out of
a room. In this book, Tom Kelley reveals the strategies
used at IDEO, the world-famous design firm,
to “foster innovative thinking throughout an organization
and overcome the naysayers who stifle
creativity.”
Kelley identifies ten roles people can play (or hats
they put on or personas they can adopt) that help
innovation succeed. Each of the full color chapters
is devoted to one of the personas (which, by
the way, have really cool names) and includes realworld
examples of “unsung heroes and teams who
make innovation happen day in and day out.” The
personas are grouped into three main categories:
1. the Learning Personas – These personas
gather information constantly in order to
expand their knowledge and grow. Learning
personas include: The Anthropologist, The Experimenter,
and The Cross Pollinator.
2. the organizing Personas – These are organizing
roles, played by people who are wired
for process. They include: The Hurdler, The Collaborator,
and The Director.
3. the Building Personas – These remaining
roles are generally found in the heart of the
action—making the innovation happen. They
are: The Experience Architect, The Set Designer, The
Caregiver, and The Storyteller.
This book is easy to read and would be a powerful
tool in understanding and developing high performing
team. Find out more about the book and
check out a description of the 10 faces at: www.
tenfacesofinnovation.com

9
FFA Bright Ideas is made possible through sponsorship
from the following organizations as a
special project of the National FFA Foundation
State officer programs are made possible by our
generous sponsors.
R
Join the
Nation!
Have you joined The Nation? FFA
Nation, that is! Now, FFA members
can connect with other members
across the country with FFA Nation,
an online community where they
can create profiles, add friends,
upload photos, communicate
on message boards and interact
with other members with similar
interests.
We need your help to spread
the word to your state members!
The online community is FFA
specific, so members can add
information to their profile about
their SAE, favorite FFA memories,
their chapter office and more! On
the Discussions board, members
can start threads on FFA topics
such as idea-sharing for National
FFA Week plans, tips on starting an
SAE or even their favorite parts of
this year’s national convention. Plus,
there are groups, events, photo
galleries, great giveaways and more.
For details, contact Julie Woodard,
317-802-4310 or jwoodard@ffa.org .
ffanation.ffa.org
ChECk iT ouT TodAy!
Engage
with FFA
Are you a part of our FFA
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Nation? Then be sure to
“share,” “like,” “re-tweet,”
and comment on the
things we post. It keeps the
conversation going and helps
spread the FFA word. And
make sure the FFA fan page is
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bottom of your feed and click
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